BF 152: Intro to Maple Syrup Production

Sugaring for Profit

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Sugaring for Profit

Maple syrup production is rapidly growing around the Northeast and offers a sound financial opportunity to utilize woodlots. This course explores the range possibilities of maple sugaring on your land – be it for supplemental income or for your livelihood. Also discussed are “alternative” trees for production, including Birch and Black Walnut. The content presented assumes the student has little past knowledge of sugaring, but a background in agriculture or forestry will be very helpful.

Target Audience

BEGINNER/ALL LEVELS – This course is for who exploring the feasibility of sugaring on their land, and while the basics will be covered many seasoned sugarmakers will benefit from the content, especially new research that will be presented.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Identify the potential opportunities for producing maple sap and syrup on your land
  • Develop and manage a forest stand for optimal maple sap production and long-term health and productivity
  • Understand the costs and benefits of utilizing buckets, bags, gravity tubing, or vacuum enhanced tubing systems to gather sap
  • Design a maple tubing system to achieve maximum sap yields in a cost-effective manner
  • Understand the pros and cons and logistics of buying sap or leasing taps as a means of expanding your production
  • Process sap into syrup in a cost effective manner that is appropriate for the size of the operation
  • Filter, package, grade, and label maple syrup for sale following food safety regulations

Webinars

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the online interface of the course to allow you to meet on a weekly basis and ask questions to address your sugaring issues in real time. If you miss a webinar, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.

Webinar Schedule

In 2024, this course will be offered live for 6-weeks on Mondays from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Eastern) from November 4 – December 9. While we encourage live attendance, so you have the opportunity to engage with presenters and ask questions, all webinars are recorded and posted in the online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely, and can return to participate in the live webinars in future offerings of the course if you wish. Join us!


Your Instructor


Adam Wild
Adam Wild

Adam Wild is a maple enthusiast, Director of Cornell University's Uihlein Maple Research Forest and co-director of the Cornell Maple Program. The Uihlein Maple Research Forest, located in Lake Placid, NY, is a 350 acre forest conducting applied research and education for the maple industry. As director, Adam does research within their 6,000+ commercial maple tap operation along with tapping and producing other tree syrups such as birch and beech. Previously Adam was an Assistant Professor of Plant Sciences at SUNY Cobleskill where he developed and taught a course in maple syrup production. Adam has a M.S in Forest Ecology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry where he did research on maple sap sweetness. Although Adam grew up on a livestock and vegetable farm, he is a first generation maple farmer who started out tapping a couple trees and has progressed to operating the commercial scale operation at the Uihlein Forest.


Student Testimonials

“This course was just what I needed to launch my small sugaring operation and make use of all the maples on my land!”
“Excellent course. Instructor understood that all of us are in different places as far as set ups, experience and ambitions. All levels of knowledge and operations were welcome.”

"The course instructor does a nice job presenting material and including class members. He has also coordinated top notch guest speakers. Quality instruction makes learning easier."

"By learning the basics I gained confidence in my ability to do this! Hopefully the next few
years I can actually expand and run lines for multiple trees!"

Course Curriculum


  General Course Resources
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  Week 1: Is Sugaring Right for You? Options for Getting Started in Sugaring
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  Week 2: Sugarbush Evaluation and Management
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course officially starts and ends on the dates given above, when the instructors get involved and begin hosting live weekly webinars. If you are registering after the webinars have concluded for the year, you will have immediate access to all the course materials, and will be able to participate in the next year's webinars if you choose to.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 7 days and we will give you a full refund.

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